My One Big Beef With Star Trek

So I've been getting really into Star Trek lately (the original series, I mean), and I wouldn't say I love the show, but I far from dislike it. It thrives on it's late 60's charm. As much scene chewing William Shatner does, I can't say I don't think he's a good actor because I actually really love his style. As flawed as it is, the way it's filmed works for me, with its always weird and uncomfortable edits to those typical 40s-60s Hollywood, over-lit, aura creating close-ups and I always giggle when the show does what it can with it's budget and tricks (try and watch the Enterprise get hit by some phaser and not giggle at the actors just fumbling around in the deck like their drunk  and Kirk somehow staying in his chair). I was surprised to see that the show isn't afraid to go into some dark, vague places, especially ending episodes on a totally eerie or somber note, but they also aren't above extremely goofy premises (see Tribbles and that one episode where a town the crew visits has based it's entire existence on a book called "Chicago Mobs of the 20s") And damn, if I don't love the theme song.


But mostly, Star Trek is silly, and that's why I like it. And because I'm weird, I think this very silly show has one very serious problem. Which I take very seriously. Because I think it's Important, dammit. And because the crew, whose mission is to investigate the outer reaches of space, to learn about all the things unknown, to learn from new lifeforms--their ways of life, their biological structures, everything--seem like they have it all figured out already, and this completely undermines the whole point of the show.

And, yes, I know almost every show does deal with enemies and technologies, most more advanced than the Federation, that the crew have never heard of (and sometimes have never even imagined), but still there's this underlying superiority that they project to almost everyone and everything. You see, they may not be as technologically advanced, but dammit they understand the intangibles like Liberty Truth Freedom and Blah Blah.

Let's take a few (or several) episodes for instance (I've only seen the first 47 episodes by the way):

• The Return of the Archons - Here, a machine controls the citizens of planet Beta III to the point where the citizens have absolutely no personal expression. They are essentially mindless beings, but the machine is doing this for a good cause: to keep a struggling society at peace. Now, this obviously is a bad thing, and Kirk finds a way to stop the machine. He gives a Speech about Liberty and Freedom and that the machine is actually doing harm to the Soul, so of course the machine self-destructs. 
• Who Mourns for Adonis? -  Now this is a pretty bad episode where, it turns out, Greek gods are actually aliens. The crew meet the god/alien Apollo (who lives off of worship apparently) who immediately traps them on the planet to pretty much adore him forever or whatever. Kirk makes several speeches here about Freedom and the Soul and Blah Blah.
• The Apple - The crew go down onto a planet whose inhabitants worship a machine (patterns, patterns) and are kept reasonably happy, but are extremely stunted technologically and emotionally. Kirk makes some speech about Freedom and Free-Will and Blah Blah and destroys the machine and just pretty much leaves the villagers to figure everything out on their own.
• The Gamesters of Triskelion - Kirk and his crew are kidnapped and made to do battle with other species (who find this life-style normal). Kirk makes a speech to the other aliens about Freedom and Liberty and All That Shit and he brings some of them to their senses and saves the day.

I understand that these episodes were made during a time when "America Hurrah Yay USA Boo Communism" was on the minds of everyone, and that these episodes definitely make it a show for its time, but I can dismiss that. (And there are some episodes where the crew do learn from others: The Corbomite Maneuver, The Menagerie, Naked Time.) My main problem with these scenarios mostly deal with writing. Why make a show, the whole purpose of which is to see new things and learn about the universe, where the main characters practically have it all figured out?